cookin(g) January 7, 2008

My resolution is to make one meal from a new recipe every week. I started today with vegetarian pea soup. The recipe was taken from Laurel’s Kitchen and from How to Cook Everything (I used parts from both). It was good! It was more like stew once I put the barley in-I actually used Trader Joe’s Harvest Grain Blend, which includes couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa. I like soups that are filling though, so am very happy with the consistency.  My recipe:

• fry onion
• add 2 cups split peas, and
• 6 cups chicken broth, and
• a bay leaf 
• cook till peas are soft-an hour or so
• then in food processor blend 1/2 or so of the peas
• add diced potato
• one carrot, and
• basil and thyme (1/2 tsp each)  
• simmer for another 1/2 hour or so 
• meanwhile, cook the harvest grains blend as directed but don’t cook completely
• Dump into soup
• Cook for another five minutes or so (add water if you want to change the consistency) 
• If you use low sodium chicken broth, add salt.  

 We’ll see if I can keep it up……the resolution that is. 

• Speaking of Trader Joe’s, this site: http://www.traderjoesfan.com has recipes from TJ products, and rates products, etc..kind of cool

 

Holographic Tinsel Tree November 26, 2007

Trucked out to Michaels in Queens yesterday (well, actually, took subway)  to buy felt and got a Christmas tree. They have amazing stuff and the  holographic tinsel tree I got came complete with lights attached (it’s a fake tree of course, and small). I put my felt decorations on it. I like it : )

 This tree is called a “holographic tinsel tree” 

“Holographic tinsel trees are available in pink, silver and green in the 4-foot size and red, pink, silver and green in the 2-foot size.”

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Homemade Oatmeal Bath November 13, 2007

Though this “recipe” mentions kids as the ones who are recommended to take Oatmeal baths for sensitive skin, there is nothing saying adults shouldn’t make oatmeal bath.I’ve used the recipe below and it basically uses oatmeal, which is not an expensive grocery item.Making it costs MUCH less than the store bought Aveeno oatmeal bath, and it’s great for those with sensitive skin or dry sking, or with irritations like rashes. In this cold dry weather it’s easy to get irritated dry skin.http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/oatmealbath.htm

felt-off November 12, 2007

    

I am having a “felt off” with a few people. We are all making felt things and we will then have a felt art show. I’m not sure how it started. Actually, I do. Michelle and I were wandering around gastown one day and found a store that had felt stuff. Felt burgers; felt people; felt bacon and eggs; felt everything.     

 So we of course decided that we could do it ourselves, hence the felt off. So I made another felt thing today. I think I am making felt Christmas tree decorations-by default. This is meant to be a little reindeer, though its blue since I didn’t have the right color felt. 

If anyone wants any of the patterns for these decorations, let me know. I can put em online. Some are from “The Cute Book”(see blog post below for more book details).  Others are just hand done.  

scones are hard to make October 31, 2007

I’ve now tried two recipes and they all taste like cardboard. I have now collected a few more recipes and will try them. It seems that I might have to kneed after all. I have avoided all recipes that require kneeding, but I think that shortcut is over. At Oren’s , where they have cornered the market on the best coffee, they have the Balthazar scones that are soooo good.

But back to scones. A friend gave me a “Cooks Ilustrated” recipe that I will try next. In the meantime, as I was about to dump all those scones in the garbage, I realized that I could make bread pudding using the scones as the bread. So that’s the next plan.

In the meantime it’s Halloween which means the West Village is cut off from the East Village by the parade-of-all parades. It looks to be a lovely day for it.

Happy Halloween!

pumpkin patch October 20, 2007

My paper mache pumpkin patch. Made it a few years ago but take it out every year around this time, for fall decorations.

If you want tons of paper mache information (or indeed information for anything, from being optimistic to making pumpkin soup) use wikihow (same concept as wikipedia, where users enter content).

Library card generator October 16, 2007

I found this great library card generator awhile back, from blyberg.net. You can personalize them and add any call numbers, etc. Great idea for presents and cards. My online resume has an opening image of one of the cards: homepages.nyu.edu/~ntk2

felt October 15, 2007

Found a great book in an amazing bookstore in Seattle, called The Cute Book. Made two cute felt creatures yesterday, as my cure for jet lag.